Category Archives: British Museum

Lecture Highlights From the XVI International Numismatic Congress

By John Thomassen for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… It has been roughly two weeks since the close of the INC 2022 – XVI International Numismatic Congress in Warsaw, Poland. In that time, I’ve been able to reflect upon my experience there, re-watch some of the presentations I saw in person, and view for the […]

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Medieval Scottish Coinage

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Flower of Scotland, when will we see your like again? That fought and died for your wee bit hill and glen…[1] BY ONE ESTIMATE, some 20-25 million Americans can trace their ancestry to Scotland[2]. But despite this, the dramatic and bloody medieval history of Scotland is often treated as […]

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Dolphin Imagery and Olbian Cast Dolphin Coins

Fresco of dolphins, c. 1600 BC, from Knossos, Crete By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. The dolphin straddled the Greek worlds of mythology, religion, and the mundane. In Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, it plays the role of a hunter who stalked fish and man alike. Similar to the lion, or any other large land-based hunter, it […]

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The Dekadrachm – Athens’ Greatest Coin

By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. The coins of Athens are among the most popular and best known of all ancient coins – virtually every collector of ancient coins has at least one “owl” (Athenian tetradrachm) in her or his collection. But the most spectacular Athenian coin is the dekadrachm, most likely struck in […]

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William Shakespeare Medal Reunited With Family

By John Thomassen for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… One of the more fascinating aspects of the American Numismatic Society’s (ANS) eBay store are the numismatic stories that come with the objects we are privileged to offer. While every object has a story to tell, we aren’t always privy to the full story, apart from […]

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The Hole Truth: Ancient Coins That Were Pierced

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Don’t buy damaged coins. They will be impossible to sell. This was some of the best advice I ever got from an experienced collector of ancients. But like most things in classical numismatics, there are exceptions. Ancient coins were sometimes pierced with a hole, to be worn […]

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The Influence of Historic and Ancient Coin Designs

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. History is a continuum and time moves linearly. Generally, as time progresses, artistic and cultural trends evolve and build upon each other. One perfect example is the Hellenistic influence seen in Buddhist artwork from the Gandharan province in the first century BCE. The Bactrian and other Greek kings who […]

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Online Resources for Researching Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. For many collectors of classic and modern American coins, the only information resource they need is the old, reliable “Red Book”, which will mark its 75th anniversary in 2022. Collectors of ancient coins, however, face a problem that is considerably more complex. With thousands of types issued […]

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ANS Announces Winner of Collier Prize in Ancient Numismatics

In 2020, Carole Anne Menzi Collier established the Collier Prize in Ancient Numismatics at the American Numismatic Society (ANS), a new award offered for the first time in 2021. The Prize is named after her late husband, Professor James M. Collier, to commemorate the life of a remarkable man, an ardent lover of the history […]

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A Contemporaneous British Take on German World War I Medals

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. German World War I medals are viewed today through three main lenses: as simple vehicles for propaganda espousing Teutonic virtues; as permissible artistic expressions of war fatigue; and lastly as early 20th-century “attack ads” against the Entente Powers. Regardless, these views are informed by hindsight. To me, the more […]

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Crown of Iron: Coins of the Lombard Kings

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. THE LOMBARDS, A tribe that traced their origin to Scandinavia, migrated into Eastern Europe in the fifth century CE, earning a reputation for ferocity in that war-torn land. Under their king Alboin (reigned c. 560-572), they invaded northern Italy around 568, where their name endures today in […]

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The Coinage of Ancient Numidia

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. NORTH AFRICA IN antiquity was a greener place. Climate change and centuries of deforestation and overgrazing have caused extensive desertification of lands that once fed and sustained ancient empires. The kingdom of Numidia, which emerged in the third century BCE in parts of Tunisia and […]

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Provenances of Ancient Coins

By Edward Waddell for CoinWeek ….. The provenance or pedigree of an ancient coin to a former collection adds historical interest and prestige to the ownership of said coin. In the case of important collections of the past, it provides a tangible link to those former numismatists. In some cases, provenance can add considerably to […]

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The Medieval English Coins of the Wars of The Roses

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. The late medieval monarchies of Europe were fundamentally fragile and prone to civil disorder. Political stability and harmony depended ultimately on the personal capacity of individual kings. In the second half of the fifteenth century, the western kingdoms all endured upheaval and civil war as a result of disputed, […]

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Coins of the Conquerors of Rome

By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, so, too, did it not fall in one. It actually took three days, spread out over 66 years. Theodosius the Great (reigned 379-395 CE) was the last man to rule the entire Roman Empire, both East and West. On his […]

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ANS Launches Online Fundraising Campaign for OCRE

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) aims to incorporate major new research on Roman Imperial Coinage into its hugely popular digital resource Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE). This is a laborious process that entails updating or amending thousands of entries, and it will take several months to complete. In order to assist this project, […]

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Sea Creatures on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …..   ANCIENT PEOPLE WHO lived around the shores of the Mediterranean were intimately familiar with the marine life around them. Fish were a critical resource for these societies, figuring prominently in their culture, art, and mythology from very early times. When coinage came into wide […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series – Ravenna: From Imperial Capital to Byzantine Outpost

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. …the sick promenade while the doctors lie abed, the baths freeze while the houses burn, the living are thirsty while the buried swim, thieves are vigilant while the authorities sleep, the clergy lend money while the Syrian merchants sing psalms… (Deliyannis, 50) —Sidonius Apollinaris (c. 430-489 describing Ravenna as […]

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ANS Executive Director Dr. Ute Wartenberg Kagan to Retire, Assume New Research Role

By Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez for CoinWeek ….. Dr. Ute Wartenberg Kagan, who has served as the executive director of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) since 1999, will be transitioning to a new research curator role at the numismatic non-profit organization headquartered in New York City on November 1. She announced her resignation from her post in […]

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Heritage Auctions – Seldom Seen Coin Selections: Gem Continental Dollar in Dallas Auction

Despite a documented history dating back more than 235 years, the 1776 Continental dollar remains an enigmatic issue to numismatists today. The coins have been studied by some of the greatest numismatic researchers of all time, but opinions about the origin and intended purpose of the coins remain divided. Regardless of their controversial nature, the […]

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Metal Detectorist Finds Hoard of 99 Anglo-Saxon Silver Pennies

By Dix Noonan Webb …… Thirty years ago, a fortune-teller asked builder Don Crawley to pick three cards from a full deck of playing cards, Don picked out three cards and to the fortune-teller’s amazement, they were all nines. Since then Don has always had a special attachment to the number nine. For almost the […]

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Ancient Coin News – ANS Announces Ptolemaic Coins Online

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is pleased to announce the release of a new web-based research tool: Ptolemaic Coins Online (PCO). As part of the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded Hellenistic Royal Coinages project, PCO is a new research tool intended to provide wide access to the coins listed in the print volumes of Coins […]

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Ancient Coin News – ANS Releases Seleucid Coins Online Version 2

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is pleased to announce the release of version 2 (v.2) of the web-based research tool: Seleucid Coins Online (SCO). As a component of the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded Hellenistic Royal Coinages (HRC) project, SCO aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the coinages struck by the Seleucid kings between […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Ptolemies, Part II

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series  by Mike Markowitz ….. Ptolemy IV Philopator (222 – 204 BCE) THE LONG DECLINE OF Ptolemaic Egypt began with the reign of Ptolemy IV, who was born about 245 BCE and came to the throne on the death of his father in 221. He is known by the epithet “Philopator” (“Beloved of His […]

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Bad Money – Ancient Counterfeiters and Their Fake Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series on Ancient Counterfeiters by Mike Markowitz …. Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur “The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived.” — attributed to Petronius, 1st-century Roman satirist AROUND 650 BCE, on the eastern shore of the Aegean Sea, coinage was invented. Very soon afterward, Ancient Counterfeiters and their counterfeit […]

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Imperial Wannabes: The Ancient Coinage of Roman Usurpers

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. IMPERIAL ROME NEVER REALLY solved the problem of orderly succession to power. The “normal” pattern of inheritance in a monarchy is an elderly ruler replaced after his natural death by a well-qualified adult son. For Rome, this was an exception, not a rule. Officially, an emperor had […]

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Heritage Auctions – Finest Known Continental Dollar

The 1776 Continental dollar is an enigmatic, complex issue that has fascinated numismatists for more than 200 years. Numismatic scholars from Sylvester Sage Crosby to Eric P. Newman and Michael Hodder studied the issue in detail, mapping out a convincing theory of the origin and purpose of the coins and classifying the numerous varieties that […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Terrible Ninth Century

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …. MOST PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT MEDIEVALISTS would be hard pressed to name one thing that happened between the years 800 and 900. For many Europeans during that terrible century, it was the worst of times. Viking raiders descended from the north, Arab marauders attacked from the south, and kingdoms […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Ancient Coinage of Yemen

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. The ancient coinage of Southern Arabia is one of the most obscure branches of numismatics. In origin it is Greek; but in development it is Semitic. For the proper study of it a numismatist who is equally well equipped on the Greek and Semitic side is required; […]

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Ancient Coins – ANS Introduces Seleucid Coins Online Numismatic Reference

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is pleased to announce the release of a new web-based research tool: Seleucid Coins Online (SCO) (numismatics.org/sco). As a component of the National Endowment of the Humanities-funded Hellenistic Royal Coinages (HRC) project (see numismatics.org/pocketchange/neh-hrc), SCO aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the coinages struck by the Seleucid kings between […]

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Incredible Rare Great Britain Pattern Crown: Stack’s Bowers NYINC

By Chris Chatigny, Numismatist & Cataloger – Stack’s Bowers …… The Stack’s Bowers Galleries January New York International (NYINC) sale is a magnificent event with published high estimates in excess of $9 million. One of the highlights is lot 20350, a tremendous pattern crown for Great Britain’s George III engraved by the master Benedetto Pistrucci. […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for December 8, 2017: Money Will Burn, the Bitcoin Bubble and the Red Kettle

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for December 8, 2017 Current Events 1.) BEP Damaged Currency Redemption With the wildfires raging in California, it’s important to remember that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) offers a redemption program for burned, mutilated or otherwise damaged currency. Follow this link to learn more. 2.) Zimbabwe not […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for November 10, 2017:

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for November 10, 2017:  Brain Food 1.) Israel’s ancient underwater treasure In 2015, divers discovered a hoard of more than 2,000 gold coins on the ocean floor off the coast of Caesarea – the largest stash ever found in the region… 2.) Why Soviet communist countries had a love-hate […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for November 3, 2017: Bitcoin Bound and the RCM Counterfeit Gold Mystery

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for November 3, 2017:  Brain Food 1.) The Ideal Auction Preston McAfee, Chief Economist at Microsoft, explains the different kinds of auctions, how they work, what the pros and cons are, and why we don’t have auctions for everything we buy. Truly fascinating stuff. But where it gets deep […]

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American Numismatic Society, Google Arts Partner for Online Exhibits

The American Numismatic Society has partnered with Google Arts & Culture to present online exhibits of its collections through the Google Cultural Institute. This free platform allows the ANS to showcase its collections and exhibitions through leveraging web design tools created by Google for non-profit cultural institutions. In presenting its exhibitions online through Google, the […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for October 20, 2017: Debtor Nation, Crypto-Corruption

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for October 20, 2017:  Brain Food 1.) ‘Like stars in a complex constellation, these objects convey the sweep of Jewish history’ This exceptionally rare gold coin was minted in Judaea immediately after the conquest of Jerusalem and brought with a deployment of Roman troops to England soon afterwards. Two […]

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British Museum’s Roger Bland to Receive 2017 Huntington Award from ANS

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) awards its 2017 Archer M. Huntington Award for Excellence in Numismatic Scholarship to Dr. Roger Bland. The Trustees of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) have voted to award Dr. Roger Bland the 2017 Archer M. Huntington Award in recognition of his outstanding career contributions to numismatic scholarship. The award ceremony […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for July 21, 2017: The Hobby Under Fire, Endangered Cash, & Coin Crime

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for July 14, 2017:  The War on Cash 2: This Time It’s Personal 1.) ‘CASH ESSENTIAL TO PERSONAL FREEDOM’ – EUROPEANS PUSH BACK The biggest cited concern for respondents was the threat the cash restrictions would pose to privacy and personal anonymity. A total of 87% of respondents viewed […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for May 19, 2017

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for May 19, 2017 Brain Food 1.) Defacing coins like a suffragette Have you ever tried to get into the mind of a suffragette? British Museum curator Tom Hockenhull has… and not in the way you might expect from a numismatist… The Future Is Now 2.) How the Royal […]

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Metal Detecting – U.K. Ranks Its Top 20 Treasures

By Everett Millman – Gainesvillecoins.com ……   Most aspiring treasure hunters are aware that Great Britain is essentially the metal detecting treasure capital of the world Aside from an extensive history of habitation that has produced almost innumerable antiquities and medieval coins, the country boasts the world’s most equitable treasure trove laws. This is effectively the […]

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Metal Detecting – U.K. Ranks Its Top 20 Treasures

By Everett Millman – Gainesvillecoins.com …… Most aspiring treasure hunters are aware that Great Britain is essentially the metal detecting treasure capital of the world Aside from an extensive history of habitation that has produced almost innumerable antiquities and medieval coins, the country boasts the world’s most equitable treasure trove laws. This is effectively the reason […]

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British Museum: Exclusive Video of Piano Gold Coin Hoard

By CoinWeek News Staff …. Earlier this year, the British public–along with the rest of the world–was invited to help solve the mystery of 913 piece gold coin hoard hidden inside a vintage piano donated to a local community college in 2015. The 91.7% pure gold coins, 633 sovereigns and 280 half sovereigns dating from […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for April 21, 2017

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for April 21, 2017 Brain Food 1.) Our money is filthy but mostly harmless Most of the bacteria on American notes were harmless commensals that had flaked off hands, faces and mouths, but there were others that cause acne, strep throat, the H-bug, two species infecting vaginas, and other […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for April 21, 2017

By Coinweek ….   CoinWeek News Wire for April 21, 2017 Brain Food 1.) Our money is filthy but mostly harmless Most of the bacteria on American notes were harmless commensals that had flaked off hands, faces and mouths, but there were others that cause acne, strep throat, the H-bug, two species infecting vaginas, and […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for April 14, 2017

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for April 7 2017 Brain Food 1.) Test How Much You Know About Bitcoin As the world’s monetary systems teetered on the edge in late 2008, some computer whizzes sought a digital solution. As Lehman Brothers lay dying, a math-based, completely digital means of exchange known as bitcoin was […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for April 14, 2017

By Coinweek ….   CoinWeek News Wire for April 14 2017 Brain Food 1.) Test How Much You Know About Bitcoin As the world’s monetary systems teetered on the edge in late 2008, some computer whizzes sought a digital solution. As Lehman Brothers lay dying, a math-based, completely digital means of exchange known as bitcoin […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Sphinxes on Ancient Coins

The business of a sphinx is to be mysterious By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….   …somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs…[1] — W. B. Yeats, “The Second Coming” (1920) IN […]

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CoinWeek Podcast #51: Globetrotting with Numistourist Howard Berlin

CoinWeek Podcast #51: Globetrotting with Numistourist Howard Berlin The CoinWeek Podcast won the 2016 NLG Award for Best Audio Program. If you’d like to help the podcast grow and continue to bring you in-depth and thoughtful interviews and news coverage, then leave us a five-star review on the iTunes store. You can also download all […]

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CoinWeek Podcast #51: Globetrotting with Numistourist Howard Berlin

CoinWeek Podcast #51: Globetrotting with Numistourist Howard Berlin The CoinWeek Podcast won the 2016 NLG Award for Best Audio Program. If you’d like to help the podcast grow and continue to bring you in-depth and thoughtful interviews and news coverage, then leave us a five-star review on the iTunes store. You can also download all […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Modern Fakes of Ancient Coins

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….   “To declare that a forged coin is genuine is a mistake, but to declare that a genuine coin is a forgery is a crime.” –Leo Mildenberg (1913 – 2001)[1] FOR CLASSICAL NUMISMATISTS any discussion of fake ancient coins is… a delicate subject. Dealers worry that fear of fakes […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Modern Fakes of Ancient Coins

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …. “To declare that a forged coin is genuine is a mistake, but to declare that a genuine coin is a forgery is a crime.” –Leo Mildenberg (1913 – 2001)[1] FOR CLASSICAL NUMISMATISTS any discussion of fake ancient coins is… a delicate subject. Dealers worry that fear of fakes will […]

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Ancient Coin News – Metal Detectorist Challenges Alton Hoard Value

By Everett Millman – Gainesville Coins ……. In 1996, a Briton who was interested in archaeology and metal detecting as a pastime discovered one of the most significant treasure hoards in the history of the U.K., the Alton Hoard. A full two decades later, the finder–a bricklayer named Peter Beasley–believes that expert appraisers downplayed the […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for November 18, 2016

By Coinweek ….   CoinWeek News Wire for November 18, 2016 Brain Food 1.) The priceless legacy of P.L. Gupta We owe a great debt to coin collector P.L. Gupta, whose career continues to shape the study of the monetary and numismatic history of India… 2.) A Brief History of the Racketeer Nickel [T]he Deadwood nickel is […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for October 21, 2016

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for October 21, 2016 Brain Food 1.) What is the Average Lifespan of a Coin? Coins are tough little devils. Over the course of a coins’ lifespan, they will be dropped, kicked, stepped on, possibly run over by a vehicle, or involved in some children’s experiment to discover just how […]

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After 140 Years, A Hoard is Finally Ready to be Dispersed at Spink

Something very exciting is happening at Spink this September. As the dust begins to settle after the mammoth celebrations commemorating Spink’s 350th year, Spink’s auction room will be graced with the privilege of selling the famous Harptree Hoard of fourth-century silver coins. This will form part of the auction of Ancient, British and Foreign Coins […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for September 23, 2016

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for September 23, 2016 The Future Is Now 1.) Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack “Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term,” [Judge Alison] Nathan wrote. “Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for September 16, 2016

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for September 9, 2016 Brain Food 1.) Deciphering history, one coin at a time Pankaj Tandon, an accidental numismatist, is breathing life into forgotten kingdoms and solving historical puzzles with the help of ancient currency… 2.) Printing money, minting coins, refining gold IF THERE is one single Philippine institution […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for September 9, 2016

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for September 9, 2016 Brain Food 1.) The birth and death of paper money Kublai Khan, said Marco Polo, had ‘a more extensive command of treasure than any other sovereign in the universe’. There were no jangling pockets of coins in Kanbalu. Bark had been stripped from the mulberry […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for August 26, 2016

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for August 19, 2016 Brain Food 1.) Rare coins in rare places While finding one or more rare coins in a totally unexpected location doesn’t happen very often, it does happen. Here are three stories about rare coins found in surprising spots… 2.) Some interesting facts about Indian currency […]

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Why Museums Hate Ancient Coins

The Fitzwilliam Museum – Cambridge, England By Mike Markowitz for Coinweek …. Ancient Coin Series AS COLLECTORS OF ANCIENT COINS, one of the most Frequently Asked Questions we encounter is “Don’t these things belong in museums?” The answer, sometimes with a patient sigh, sometimes with a snort of derision, is an emphatic, “No!” The Dirty Little Secret […]

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English Gold Noble Coins of King Edward III (1327-77)

Coin Rarities & Related Topics: News and Analysis regarding scarce coins, coin markets, and the coin collecting community #342 A Weekly CoinWeek Column by Greg Reynolds …… English Noble gold coins minted during the era of King Edward III are historically important, attractive, intricately designed and modestly priced in contrast to rare gold coins of […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for July 22, 2016

By Coinweek ….   CoinWeek News Wire for July 22, 2016 Brain Food 1.) The history keepers On a cool, cloudy Tuesday morning … a coin collector stops by the Laxmi Narayan temple in Basantapur, looking for a coin minted during the reign of Prithivi Narayan Shah. There he finds an old man, seated on […]

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Metal Detectorist Finds Treasure Hoard of 8,000 Ancient Roman Coins

By Shaquille Brissett for Gainesville Coins …… There are times when persistence pays off in a big way. This turned out to be exceedingly true for one treasure hunter from Altrincham, a small British market town in Greater Manchester. It was January of 2015, and Cheshire, a county in the northwest portion of England between […]

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Stack’s Bowers World Coin Auctions – Hupeh Tael with Large Characters

By Chris Chatigny, Numismatist & Cataloger – Stacks Bowers …… This preview for our upcoming Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio August Hong Kong Showcase Auction features a lovely Hupeh Tael, a perennially popular issue. The Hupeh Tael was part of a projected coinage reform based on the traditional Chinese weight standard rather than the dollar system. […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coinage of Pergamon

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek…. NOW AND THEN IN HISTORY, economic, political and social forces come together in just the right combination to make a particular city the dynamic locus of cultural creativity. We see this in Athens in the time of Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BCE), Florence during the Renaissance (c. 1350 – 1450 […]

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ANS Awards 2016 Archer M. Huntington Award to Dr. Michael Alram

Dr. Michael Alram the 2016 ANS Archer M. Huntington Award Winner The Trustees of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) have voted to award Dr. Michael Alram the 2016 Archer M. Huntington Award in recognition of his outstanding career contributions to numismatic scholarship. The award ceremony will be held on Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 6:00 […]

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Bad Money: Ancient Counterfeiters and Their Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz…. Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur “The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived.” — attributed to Petronius, 1st-century Roman satirist AROUND 650 BCE, on the eastern shore of the Aegean Sea, coinage was invented. Very soon afterward, counterfeit coinage appeared, and it has been with […]

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The Modern Hobby of Ancient Coins – A CoinWeek Exclusive with Harlan J. Berk

By CoinWeek…. Harlan J. Berk founded the company that bears his name in 1964, but like so many other numismatists, he actually got his start as a kid when someone (in Berk’s case, his mother) gave him those first fascinating coins. And now, after 52 years plus as a professional and a coin dealer–specializing in […]

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Coinage of Kyrene: A Greek City in Libya

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz…. THE JEBEL AKHDAR OR “GREEN MOUNTAINS” OF LIBYA stretches eastward from Benghazi for a hundred miles (160 km) along the coast. With an average annual rainfall of 15-20 inches (375-500 mm), these limestone hills are the most forested region in North Africa. In ancient times, before centuries of […]

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Those Darned Etruscans: Coins of the Rasna

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz… THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN TUSCANY before the Romans are often described as “enigmatic” or “mysterious.” We know them as “Etruscans”[1] from the name that the Romans called them; they called themselves “Rasna.” The last speakers of the Etruscan language probably died out in the first century of […]

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Newly discovered Anglo-Saxon Treasure Coins on Display at The British Museum

The British Museum has put on display the largest Anglo-Saxon coin hoard discovered since the implementation of the United Kingdom’s Treasure Act of 1996. The 5,200 coin hoard was discovered by treasure hunter Paul Coleman in the village of Lenborough, Buckinghamshire, a rural community located approximately 2 hours northeast of London. Minister of State for […]

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ANS Introduces Roman Coin Research tool – The 2015 Gala Dinner – New Director of Publications

Coinage of the Roman Republic Online Today, in collaboration with the British Museum and the Münzkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the ANS launches another major new tool to aid in the identification, research and cataloging of the coins of the ancient world. Coinage of the Roman Republic Online (CRRO) continues the precedent set […]

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